Atorvastatin decreases bone loss, inflammation and oxidative stress in experimental periodontitis

PLoS One. 2013 Oct 10;8(10):e75322. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075322. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of Atorvastatin treatment, an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, in periodontal disease. Male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into five groups of ten rats each: (1) non-ligated treatment (NL), (2) ligature only (L), (3) ligature plus 1 mg/kg Atorvastatin daily for 10 days, (4) ligature plus 5 mg/kg Atorvastatin daily for 10 days, and (5) ligature plus 10 mg/kg Atorvastatin daily for 10 days. Following the treatment course, the periodontal tissue of the animals was analyzed by Measurement of alveolar bone loss, Histopathology and immunohistochemistry to determine of the expression of COX-2, MMP-2, MMP9, and RANKL/RANK/OPG. ELISA assay was used to quantitate the levels of IL-1β, IL-10, TNF-α, myeloperoxidase, malondialdehyde, and glutathione. The periodontal group treated with 10 mg/kg of Atorvastatin (3.9±0.9 mm; p<0.05) showed reverse the alveolar bone loss caused Experimental Periodontal Disease compared to (L) (7.02±0.17 mm). The periodontal group treated with 10 mg/kg of Atorvastatin showed a significant reduction in MPO and MDA (p<0.05) compared to ligature only group (L). Similarly in this group, the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α were significantly decreased (p<0.05). Furthermore, MMP-2, MMP-9, RANKL/RANK, and COX-2 were all downregulated by Atorvastatin treatment, while OPG expression was increased. The findings support a role of Atorvastatin for reducing the bone loss, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and expression of extracellular matrix proteins, while reducing RANK/RANKL and increase OPG in periodontal disease.

MeSH terms

  • Alveolar Bone Loss / drug therapy*
  • Animals
  • Atorvastatin
  • Heptanoic Acids / therapeutic use*
  • Inflammation / drug therapy
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Male
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects*
  • Periodontitis / drug therapy*
  • Periodontitis / metabolism
  • Pyrroles / therapeutic use*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar

Substances

  • Heptanoic Acids
  • Pyrroles
  • Atorvastatin

Grants and funding

The authors have no support or funding to report.